Chamber and committees

My main question is for Professor Bell and George Peretz. We have seen hundreds of millions of pounds of Scottish Government money and support, both directly and through loans, going to a number of different companies over the past year, including Prestwick Airport, GFG Alliance and Ferguson Marine, to name but a few. Issues have been raised time and again about scrutiny of those agreements and transparency. How might the bill impact on scrutiny of such deals? Could it impact on existing deals such as those that I mentioned, given that further support is either agreed or likely to be agreed for some of those companies? Is the inclusion of greater oversight in the bill important?

Good morning. My first question is directed at Nick Shields. We have covered the opportunities that exist to strengthen Scottish supply chains. What are public bodies doing to encourage inward investors to use Scottish supply chains for components and the like?

I represent the Highlands and Islands. We have touched on examples of manufacturing and business being done in some of the more remote parts of Scotland, but there are, obviously, still barriers. Starting with Professor Ridgway, will you outline some of the barriers to remote areas, particularly the Highlands and Islands—the islands specifically—being part of the supply chain? What opportunities are still there?

Are there areas in which there are still gaps or in which more can still be done?

Does Professor Bomphray want to add to that?

Good morning, Stephen. It is good to see you—I hope that you are doing well. I have a really quick question, which is a bit of a devil’s advocate one. I agree that the more that we can take opportunities for local production and local building, the better.

However, when prices from abroad reduce, what is to stop you, as a builder, and any company that provides supplies going back to the lowest common denominator? I do not necessarily mean “lowest common denominator”, but if there was a 20 to 30 per cent difference between a supply that was produced in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK and a supply that you could get from abroad, surely you and any other business would look at the cheaper option, particularly given your concerns about the costs of building affordable housing.

Start the stopwatch. I have two questions for Stephen Kemp, but the other witnesses can come in if we have time. My first question is a bit of an odd one, and you might or might not have an opinion on it.

In places such as Orkney there are companies of one or two individuals or, more likely a larger group, that might buy a plot, build a house, sell it and move on to the next one. I imagine that they will be particularly impacted by supply chain issues, because they do not have the space or the resources to buy in bulk. How might they be impacted, in Orkney or further afield?

I will move on to my main question. As you pointed out and as we have covered in the committee before, places such as Orkney are at the end of the supply chain, which causes particular issues. For example, you talked about getting younger people involved in the sector. Obviously, infrastructure, roads, ferries and so on can add to costs. Do you have any comments on what we can do to improve the infrastructure of the supply chain and reduce those costs?

If it is harder to get people and materials out there, is there a risk that they may, now or in the future, pay a premium for being on the islands at a time when we want to make sure that people can stay in our outer isles?

Yes. The Highlands and Islands were mentioned, as were islands issues. I represent the Highlands and Islands. Sometimes, we feel that we are at the end of any supply chain, but we know the work that goes in to deliver to us.

We have talked about infrastructure. What infrastructure improvements do you want? If we do not see those changes, where are we likely to be? Might we see some people pulling out of delivering to the Highlands and Islands? Are we likely to see prices increase or choices being limited?